U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

 Fact Sheet cops.usdoj.gov

Collaborative Reform Initiative Program 

All aspects of this program are voluntary and are at the request of law enforcement agencies. 

The Collaborative Reform Initiative encompasses three programs offering expert services to state, local, territorial, and 

tribal law enforcement agencies, ranging in scope and complexity. Together, these services are designed to support effective 

community policing and address the cross-cutting goals shown in figure 1.

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Figure 1. Collaborative Reform Initiative goals

A brief overview of each program is provided here.

	Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance 

Center (CRI-TAC) provides a wide array of technical 

assistance services, using a “by the field, for the field” 

approach. This program represents a partnership among 

the 10 leading law enforcement membership organizations.

	The Critical Response program is designed to provide 

targeted technical assistance to law enforcement agencies experiencing high profile events, major incidents, or 

sensitive issues of varying need. Critical Response is highly 

customizable, voluntary program that provides flexible 

assistance to law enforcement agencies in a variety of 

ways including peer-to-peer exchanges; targeted in-depth 

after-action reviews, analysis, and recommendations; and 

facilitated discussions with subject matter experts.

	Organizational Assessment offers the most intensive 

form of technical assistance on the continuum, involving in-depth assessments and long-term assistance on 

systemic issues that can challenge community trust and 

confidence. This program offers a voluntary process where 

agencies work with subject matter experts on identifying 

and implementing more comprehensive reforms to their 

operations. Areas for organizational improvement and 

reform are addressed continually throughout the process 

to provide timely and ongoing guidance and recommendations while also prividing TA to accomplish reforms.
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Collaborative Reform Initiative Program Fact Sheet

Continuum of Services

Table 1 identifies the technical assistance under which each program’s activities will fall and examples of technical 

assistance. These programs are meant to complement each other and provide a comprehensive continuum of services 

at law enforcement agencies’ request. 

Table 1. Examples of technical assistance offered in each Collaborative Reform program

Program TA examples

Executive consultation

Needs assessment (e.g., training, technology, recruitment) 

Peer exchange

Policy review

Resource referral

Strategic planning 

Training

Bias audit

Critical incident after-action review

Issue-specific review of operations

Organizational assessment with ongoing TA and public reporting

The COPS Office Continuum of TA operates within a broader ecosystem of U.S. Department of Justice 

resources designed to assist law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve achieve public safety goals 

while using strategies and tactics that are constitutional and represent the best available evidence, innovation, 

and standards of practice. To request assistance through the COPS Office Collaborative Reform Initiative, please 

visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/collaborativereform.

Contact the COPS Office

For more information about COPS Office 

programs and resources, please call the COPS 

Office Response Center at 800-421-6770 or visit 

the COPS Office website at https://cops.usdoj.gov.

February 2023